a murder in wellesley 121 12 Walking into the Wellesley detective office late in the day on Saturday, November 13, Trooper Marty Foley saw Lt. Wayne Cunningham sitting in his office wearing what Foley could only describe as “a shit-eating grin.” “Marty, what was that number again?” Cunningham playfully asked; a copy of the Boston Phoenix spread out on his desk. Foley recited the 781– 614–3040 number effortlessly, having memorized the telephone number Dr. Greineder called on June 3 and again the day before and the day after his wife’s murder. “I found it,” said the beaming Cunningham, already sure about his startling discovery before Foley’s confirming response. There in the Adult Services section of the November 5, 1999, edition of the weekly alternative newspaper was an advertisement for the Casual Elegance escort service. Reading the text in the ad, Foley was now all but certain Dr. Greineder had met a prostitute at the Dedham Hilton the previous June 2. “What lies beneath your distinguished exterior would spoil your desire by sensual massage or romantic moments,” Foley read. “Very selective 40-year-old possessing taste, refinement, sensitivity. I’ll call. Advanced verified appointment . 781–614–3040.” Foley’s recollection that the 614 prefix was connected to a pager had paid immense dividends. Now the investigators had to capitalize on it by finding out who placed the ad. “What got us there was it was a pager,” said Cunningham. “We [thought it was] an escort. We sent a cruiser down to buy a Phoenix and bring it back [to] look in the personals.” Cunningham had been scanning the dozens of sex-related ads in the tabloid newspaper for just ten minutes when he excitedly announced, “Holy shit! I found it.” Their initial calls to Casual Elegance with blocked caller identification were not returned. A more concerted effort would be undertaken a little over a week later. The Friday-night search of Dr. Greineder’s home was broadly reported by the Boston media but in New York City, Belinda Markel was unaware police 122 tom farmer and marty foley had returned to her uncle’s house until she saw Boston Globe and Boston Herald articles several days later on the Internet. Her surprise quickly turned to anger as she dialed her uncle’s telephone number to confront him. “I didn’t want it to upset you,” Dr. Greineder said defensively. “This is getting embarrassing.” Her uncle’s weak reasoning only stoked Belinda’s displeasure. “I have to read about this in the paper?” she fired back, the edge in her voice further betraying her fury. “I was pissed,” Belinda recalled. “I don’t know why it really irritated me as much as it did, but I told him. He didn’t have any good reasons for not telling me.” Dr. Greineder had been anxious to get back to work, but had stayed home for a second week to meet with Marty Murphy and gather money for his defense. He would not be surprised if “the bastards” arrested him, he told his niece. He “never talked about May,” Belinda recalled. “Everything was about Dirk. He never said he missed her or how hard it was. He talked about his traveling, how he has to get back to work, he has his research. He went on about how it was impossible for his kids to go anywhere because people were staring at them and he was getting paranoid. He was really interested in just getting on with his life. It was like staying home that second week was an obligation.” As the days rolled toward Thanksgiving, Dr. Greineder returned to his practice and the lecture circuit, but the weight of the police probe began to show. On a business trip to Michigan, he made the first of many “paranoid, rambling calls” to Belinda, convinced he was being followed. “We’re at the airport,” he told her. “My speech was great but I know I am being followed. I can feel it,” he said fearfully. “Calm down. They’re not going to follow you to Michigan,” Belinda said, wondering if her uncle had gone “cuckoo.” The more Dr. Greineder droned on, the more Belinda found herself trying to analyze his words. He never denied killing May, but Belinda purposely did not ask him. “I thought about it, and at some point I probably would have been able to, but I realized I needed to keep listening to all these things that...

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